February has been quite a month of volatility for high-yield checking as three of the four top-paying banks stopped taking applications for new accounts.

But that still means some of the best deals out there on nationally available rewards checking accounts beat the returns you can get from most FDIC-insured investments.

You just have to work a little harder at it.

With its 4.11% APY on high-yield checking accounts, Liberty National Bank of Lawton, Okla., keeps its lock on the top spot with the best nationally available rates, beating out its competition by a country mile.

Now that Evantage Bank, AmericaNet Bank and Redneck Bank — three Oklahoma siblings — have tacked up “sold outâ€ signs on their 3.75% APY high-yield checking account deals, Liberty National trounces the rest of the competition by more than a percentage point.
To take advantage of Liberty National Bank’s rate, you need to make 12 debit card transactions and one direct deposit or automatic payment from your high-yield account each month, access online banking and sign up for eStatements.

The offer is good on balances up to $10,000.

If you don’t meet those requirements, your earnings will fall to 0.10% for the month.

Besides Liberty National, a handful of banks have national offerings with rates above 3% APY. Your other options are:

3.03% APY from Coulee Bank, headquartered in LaCrosse, Wis., on deposits up to $25,000.

3.01% APY from Danversbank , with 30 branches in the Boston area. It’s good for balances up to $25,000.

3.01% APY from Liberty Bank, with four branches in the Alton, Ill., area. It also applies to balances up to $25,000.

3.01% APY from Atlantic Coast Bank of Waycross, Ga., which has 11 branches in southeast Georgia and northeast Florida. The offer is good for balances up to $15,000.